Author Photo

Chairperson of Governing body

Prof. Leon Mutesa

is an MD, PhD and full professor of human genetics, currently working as Director of Center for Human Genetics that he created in 2006 at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences-University of Rwanda. He obtained his MD from the university of Rwanda in 2003 and his PhD in 2009 from the university of Liege-Belgium where he also completed his post-doc in 2011.

Throughout his career he has been immensely involved in clinical services, academics, research, capacity building, and management in the health sector. He served as the Director of Department of Clinical Laboratory Dept. at the Kigali University Teaching hospital, which is the largest referral hospital. He has been Director General of Medical Research Center in Rwanda Biomedical Centre under Ministry of Health, where he coordinated health related research activities in all national medical institutions. He developed several research policies within the health sector and founded the Rwanda health research commission which reviews research grants and studies before approval by Rwanda National Ethics Committee.

Since starting his genetic career, Dr. Mutesa has pioneered new developments and implementation of a reference centre for medical genetics in Rwanda, which is the only one in the East African Region. He has advocated for health insurance coverage for genetic examination for patients in Rwanda and currently, most health insurances cover the karyotype exam, a test to see whether the number of someone’s chromosome number is normal and other cytogenetic and molecular tests. He has supervised/mentored more than 80 MSc, MMed, PhD, and Post-Doc fellows from Rwanda and from overseas universities.

He has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers. Dr Mutesa is a member of various expert committees and has led various regional and international research consortia and fora. Over the past 15 years he has participated in several international research and training collaborations. Currently, he is dual-PI/PD of a NIH grant- National Cancer Institute (NCI)- U54-HIV/HPV Cancer Prevention, Treatment and Pathogenesis: Rwanda/Einstein (1U54CA190163), the goal of this project is to screen for HPV in a large cohort of HIV+ women and MSM population.

He also serves as PI of NIH/H3Africa grant - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-Transgenerational Epigenomics of Trauma and PTSD in Rwanda (U01MH115485) with aim to characterize the transgenerational transmission of epigenomic impact of genocide exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women survivors of the Rwandan genocide and their offspring (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01028-9 ). Since the COVID-19 outbreak in Rwanda, Dr Mutesa and his research group have implemented various research projects aiming at building human capacity for SARS-CoV-2 laboratory diagnostic and management.

Together with his group they have published a Nature’s paper on their discovery pooling testing strategy (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2885-5)which shows a cost-saving approach for better use of SARS-CoV-2 limited testing resources. He is principal investigator of a national prospective cohort study aiming at assessing COVID-19 vaccines immune response in Rwandan population. He also serves as a board member of International Vaccine Institute https://www.ivi.int/international-vaccine-institute-appoints-two-members-to-its-board-of-trustees-representing-ecuador-and-rwanda/.

Author Photo

Member of Governing body

GASHEGU Misbah

Gashegu Misbah, BSc, MPH, PhDc, is a Public Health Professional with expertise in Public Health and Disease Surveillance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gashegu was appointed by the Rwanda Biomedical Center to lead the COVID-19 Surveillance and Response Team at Kigali International Airport for the Rwanda Joint Task Force COVID-19. Additionally, Gashegu was contracted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to serve as a COVID-19 Data Manager and Reporting Officer.

Gashegu has extensive experience supporting the coordination of Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Response activities within the Epidemic Surveillance and Response Division of the Rwanda Biomedical Center. He has collaborated with various public institutions, international organizations, and academic institutions, both on a full-time and part-time basis.

Currently, Gashegu holds the position of Director of the One Health Unit at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre. In this role, he oversees the surveillance of zoonotic diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance using the One Health approach, which involves collaboration between human, animal, and environmental sectors. Gashegu is also an active member of the international journal Acta Scientific Microbiology, based in India.

Gashegu obtained a degree in Biotechnology from the Institute of Higher Learning (INES-Ruhengeri) and a Master's degree in Public Health from Mount Kenya University, Rwanda. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Global Health and Infections at Brighton & Sussex Medical School in the United Kingdom and the University of Rwanda.

Author Photo

Member of Governing body

Pascasie MUSABYEMUNGU

Pascasie Musabyemungu is a highly experienced senior program coordinator known for her strong leadership skills, partnership management abilities, and exceptional training expertise. With a wealth of experience in building institutional and organizational capacities, she has made significant contributions to various sectors.

Currently, Mrs. Musabyemungu holds the position of Partnership and Capacity Strengthening Coordinator at Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Rwanda. In this role, she oversees partnerships and collaborates with partners while also serving as the focal point for safeguarding policy procedures. With more than 20 years of service at CRS, she has managed diverse program sectors, working tirelessly to improve the lives of vulnerable populations in collaboration with both small and large partner institutions.

In addition to her work at CRS, Mrs. Musabyemungu is actively involved as a board member of the Institut Catholique de Kabgayi. Her fluency in both English and French enhances her effectiveness in her professional engagements.

Mrs. Musabyemungu holds a Master of Sciences in Church Management from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, USA, and a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from the Kigali Independent University (ULK).

Author Photo

Member of Governing body

Dr. Christine MUKANTWALI

Christine Mukantwali holds a PhD in Food Science and Technology from Sokoine University in Tanzania. She also holds a Masters’ degree, a Bachelor of Honours, and a Bachelor degree in Human Nutrition from University of Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa. She served as a senior Research Fellow at Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAD) in the Post-Harvest and Nutrition Division from 1997 to 2020.

She has managed a number of research and development national, regional and global projects related to post harvest management and nutrition, food processing and preservation specifically with regards to fruits and vegetables, grains, roots and tubers. Christine served as a board member of different public and private institutions including the Federation of African Nutrition Societies, Rwanda Food and Drugs Authorities, SUN Alliance Rwanda and Catholic University of Rwanda, Rwanda Nutrition Society. She is currently the President of Rwanda Nutritionists’ Society. Christine is currently working for FAO as a Team Leader of Better Nutrition FAO priority area. She has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Rwanda and Catholic University of Rwanda teaching Human Nutrition and Food Systems and has a number of peer and non-reviewed publications.

Author Photo

Member of Governing body

Jean Chrysostome NKEJABAHIZI

Jean Chrysostome NKEJABAHIZI was born at Mugesera (actual Ngoma District), in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. He got a Master’s degree in Languages and African Literatures at National University of Rwanda (1986) before obtaining a PhD of Philosophy and Arts in Applied Lingustics at University of Liège (Belgium) in 2003. He is now Full Professor in the College of Arts and Social Sciences at University of Rwanda.

He teaches and publishes about national literature of his country, but also on other African literatures. Among his recent publications, we can mention Anthologie de la littérature rwandaise moderne [Anthology of Rwandan Modern Literature] (Eds of National University of Rwanda. 2009), written in collaboration with two colleagues JMV Kayishema and Augustin Rudacogora; Ubusizi nyarwanda [Rwandan Poetry] (Eds of National University of Rwanda. 2009), Les wellérismes du Rwanda. Textes, traduction et commentaires [Wellerisms from Rwanda. Texts, translation and comments] (Eds of National University of Rwanda. 2009), Amateka y’Ubuvanganzo nyarwanda kuva mu kinyejana cya XVII kugeza magingo aya [History of Rwandan literature from the XVIIth Century up to now] (Eds of National University of Rwanda. 2011) in collaboration with Prof. G. Mbonimana; Ubuvanganzo nyarwanda. Inkuru ndende n’ikinamico [Rwandan literature. Novel and drama] (Eds of National University of Rwanda. 2013) and Rwandan Short stories in English, French and Kinyarwanda (Eds of National University of Rwanda. 2013); Les wellérismes du Rwanda. Approche ethnolinguistique (Éditions de l’Université nationale du Rwanda, 2013).

Author Photo

Member of Governing body

Pierre Celestin RWABUKUKMBA

Pierre Celestin RWABUKUMBA, a Rwandan national is the current Vice-President of the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), Chairman of the East African Securities Exchanges Association (EASEA), and Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Stock Exchange Ltd. and serves as the President of the World Veterans Club Championship (VCWV) Business Club. He is the Co-founder and Chairman of Kigali Cement Company, a private company that produces and sells cement in Rwanda and neighboring countries, he is also serving on a number of other boards and advisory boards within the financial sector in Rwanda, hospitality, and manufacturing industries where he serves as a non – Executive Director.  He is also involved in different investment projects ranging from Real Estate, Poultry and Agro-processing, and manufacturing to Energy production.

Mr. Rwabukumba started his career in financial services in New York City more than a two decades ago after graduating from the University of Buffalo (UB), New York in the United States with A bachelor’s Degree in Economics. He worked in different professional positions as a stockbroker, in Compliance and Operations, Institutional Investors’ Sales and Advisory before he joined the Central Bank of Rwanda in 2004 to help start the Capital Market Development Project in Rwanda. Mr. Rwabukumba is a seasoned negotiator as he has been instrumental in different negotiations on regional integration of the East African Community and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECAS). He has served on different Capital Market Committees both at the national and the regional level the latest being the High-Level Task Force negotiating the EAC Monetary Union and the EAC Regional Capital Markets Infrastructure (CMI) Steering Committee where he serves as Chair.

Mr. Rwabukumba is an Alumni of a one-year international post-Graduate Advanced Management Program (AMP) for Executives run jointly by Strathmore Business School of Nairobi, the Lagos Business School, Pan- Atlantic University and IESE Business School, the University of Navara in Barcelona, Spain.

Office working Hours

  • Monday 8am-5pm

  • Tuesday 8am-5pm

  • Wednesday 8am-5pm

  • Thursday 8am-5pm

  • Friday 8am-5pm

  • Saturday 8am-5pm

  • Sunday 9am-4pm

Quick Links

Social Media

© 2023 Catholic University of Rwanda